Summer

Can you believe that it is already the middle of August? Where did this summer go?? We thought the summer would be much slower than this past spring was (coming off the sports season with 3 softball/baseball teams and 4 soccer teams.) We found that this summer has been just as busy...but we have been PLAYING a lot!

We started out with chicken pox (all of the girls...Michael didn't get them.) Then in June, Allison & Michael went to camp for three days/two nights at Pine Ridge Bible Camp. We picked them up from camp and headed right out to Pioneer Park to go camping with our small group. We had a riot! The next week we went to a Chicago Cubs / Detroit Tigers game in Detroit with some friends from church. Have I ever mentioned that I'm a huge Tigers fan...Scott loves the Cubs? We had great seats and it was a great day...the Tigers won! :-) We stopped in Ann Arbor on the way home for a yummy burger from Krazy Jim's Blimpie Burgers. It was featured on the Food Network...it was great!

The next week the older girls headed off to Pine Ridge for a week and we headed to Sandy Pines at the end of the week (picked them up on Sat.) and spent a little over a week out there. We were able to visit with our friends Shanda & Seth and their family while we were there...and then the next weekend we were able to visit with our friends Kurt & Dawn and their family...it was GREAT to see all of them! (Actually, Shanda was our maid of honor, Kurt was our best man...not sure why that's important to mention....just realized that we hadn't seen them both in a LONG time and then we saw them in the same week. So glad we could see them!)

Anyway, we went home for a week and then went back to Sandy Pines for another week. We had a lot of fun...but I have to say, we were so busy, we didn't relax very much. (A great vacation includes at least one nap, don't you think?) We came home and went to the a family reunion at my parents. We've been able to enjoy a little down time here in August with friends at my parents beach and other friends out at Sandy Pines. We also had a great visit with my friend Lisa, who I haven't seen in a very long time!

We also now have two very sweet dogs, Lilly & Sadie. They are five year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, very well trained, and very nice dogs. The kids LOVE them! We now are the proud owners of 1 guinea pig named Squirt, 1 goldfish (named either Gill or Herman...we're not sure. We had two and one died and one lived...but we're not sure which was which) and two dogs. :-)

So, for those of you who already knew all of that...sorry. And for those of you who didn't...that's why I haven't updated since June!

Time to gear up for school again...but we will definitely sneak in some play time in the weeks to come!

A Tourist in East GR

Michael is at the races with Daddy (and uncles and cousins). Abbi, Jessi, Emily and cousin Elizabeth are at a birthday-swim party. So, something fun is in order for Allison, Jenna and cousin Anna, don't you think? How about the zoo? So you mention it...but then realize that you really don't have enough time to get over to the zoo and then back to East GR in time (and you left your Binder Park Zoo membership card at home which gets you in half off and your sister leaves her coupon back at the birthday party house...do you really want to pay $19.00 for about an hour of rushing through the zoo?) How can you top the zoo once you have already mentioned it?

You say..."would you like to go to Gaslight Village to get ice cream and then go to the playground to play?" Not just Gaslight Village....but "Gaslight Village!"(...ya know, really excited voice!) Just so you know, if you offer any type of ice cream they want and then take pictures like you are a tourist...they love it! This is how it ended up...


(so cute skipping!)




Parking . . . free

Ice cream for three . . . $5.65

Spontaneous hug with "thanks for taking me here"... PRICELESS!

(caught on tape! yes, I had her repeat it, 'cause I thought it was so sweet!)

Guys Camping Weekend

A couple of weeks ago, Michael & Scott went on a Father/Son camping trip. Michal was SO excited. They had a GREAT time! I'm so glad that they can have bonding times like that!

Memorial Day

Only took 12 pictures to get this one...some day I'll get a good one. :-)

We had a fun chicken-pox-free Memorial Day weekend! Scott's brother, Danny, came up for the day on Sunday and we had a fun day at Sandy Pines. The kids always love going to the water park out there. Monday we headed to the parade and then to my parents house where where we had our 2nd annual "sand castle building contest." The kids came up with a full list of ideas including a "breakfast" theme...Jenna's idea. Not sure how we would do that one. :-) We ended up going with "Noah's Ark" this year. It's funny how it looks one way in your mind and turns out very different when you actually do it. We were truly quite pathetic again this year. Ha! This weekend sure gave us a taste of summer!


Noah's Ark...we even added the "mocking"
people on a hill to the side...just in case
you were wondering. :-)


Nemo's Dockside Cafe... mom & dad's


Parade...including an army man fort for Caleb :-)
Tim, Erica, Elizabeth, David, Anna & Caleb's



Adam, Rebekah's, Alex, & Ian's

"Boogerdrum"

So, my motherly pride almost stopped me from posting this one, because who wants to admit that their child picks their nose? I thought it was too cute not to share. So, this is me swallowing my pride. ;-)

Saturday morning we're eating breakfast when Allison comes into the room with a q-tip coming out each ear. Scott tells her to be careful, because if she puts them too far - or if someone bumps them - it could puncture her eardrum. Jenna, who was listening, pipes up and says:

"I know what you mean dad. Sometimes when I'm picking my nose, I hit my "booger-drum" and it really hurts." Scott had to have her repeat it a couple of times to fully understand what she was saying. She was so serious about her "booger-drum" that we had to laugh. How far exactly is she reaching up there??? And who has ever heard of a "booger-drum"?????

She really looks too cute to pick her nose, doesn't she?

Go fly a kite!

We had a fun spring break last week! I'm not sure who was more excited for a break from school...me or the kids.

We spent one day at the park with all of their cousins where we attempted to fly kites. It didn't go so well due to lack of wind and lack of kite-assembling talent. (Sorry ladies ;-) Ha!) FYI - dollar store kites do not come with instructions. The kites were pretty much only on the ground unless someone was holding it up. We tried again yesterday at my parents home where there is always plenty of wind by the lake. It was a success and it was a lot of fun!





2nd Attempt:

Sure saved me some time...

Boy, using that disposable pan sure saved me some time, didn't it! The pan caved in as I was moving it from the oven to the counter and a double batch of Chicken Tetrazinni landed all over my kitchen floor. The kids are eating peanut butter and honey sandwiches as I type this! :-)

Disturbing to Me!

I put this on my Facebook page too, but for those friends of mine who aren't on Facebook, I thought you might find it interesting too.

Most of you already know how I feel about the products they allow in the market, but I thought the make-up part was really interesting in this! (on top of the other important information!). I have seen the first part of this before, but this is the first time I saw the make-up part. I had heard about make-up and its dangers before...but to see it here again is disturbing. Keep it in mind next time your girls want to play dress up and put on some make-up! Worth 10 minutes of your time (the make up part is towards the end.)

(You'll have to copy and paste this)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2byjtybbz2o

Best Dream!

I was laying under a blanket all snuggled up with Jenna on the sofa. I was watching Fox news and she was sleeping. She pops her eyes open and says:

Jenna: "Mom, I was just having a better dream than you."

Mom: "Really?"

Jenna: "I was on a playground and there was a lot of ________ (not sure what she said). There was 10 of them...no, there was like 100 of them."

Mom: "Like on the playground at Sandy Pines?"

Jenna: "No, there were so many of them." (I still don't don't what "them" was.)

Mom: "How fun!"

Jenna: "Well, I have to get back to it now..." as she rolls over and falls asleep again (immediately.)

I just had to laugh. I wish I could "get back to it now" when I wake up from a good dream. When I even wake up a little my "mind" takes over as I start thinking of the 100 things I need to do that day. Oh, the carefree life of a child. I'm so glad it's that way for them!! I'm also so glad for Jenna. That little girl makes me smile A LOT! She is at such a fun age and she loves to share her feelings. On that note, feel free to ask me about the "thought" she shared with me last week. Remind me that it was when I was getting a pair of socks out of a basket. Let's just say that is the most information about it that I will post on the blog or facebook...and for those that already heard about it, you know why that's all I'm saying...:-) She makes me smile.

So much for the warm weather

Well, so much for the excitement of warm weather. The kids were out enjoying their scooters when Jessi came in crying with an injury. She has a high pain tolerance, so this was unusual. She couldn't hold her hand up, so we headed to the med center. A couple of hours and a couple of x-rays later....they said she has a "Fractured Elbow." Good, I thought... it's not broken. Until they explained that "a fracture is the medical term for a broken bone." :-) They put her in a splint and wrapped it up for now. We have another appointment on Friday morning where they will probably put it in a cast. Although she probably won't be playing softball and soccer like we planned this spring, at least it's not during the summer to keep her from the beach!

Ready for spring!

With the warmer weather today, it's making me wish Spring was already here! I decided it was time to get a summer-y looking picture back up! Scott just called and asked if we could grill something tonight. Sounds good, doesn't it?

January was busy with Elite Softball, Abbi had her ears pierced (she was so excited!), a trip to a hotel with a water park (thanks mom & dad K for the fun Christmas gift!), I had a fun weekend away with some friends to work on our albums, and Michael's birthday (he didn't ask about a video, so I didn't post one...). I suppose if the next couple of months are just as busy, spring will actually be here before I know it! (And so will soccer and softball...yikes!)

Happy Birthday Abbi...10 Already!!

Happy Birthday to our sweet 10 year old!!! Can that be right? They are not kidding when they say that kids grow up FAST! Seems like it was just yesterday..... We love you, honey!

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